Turkey will enter Syria if US doesn't remove YPG

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkish security forces would enter the northern Syrian town of Manbij if the U.S. doesn't remove the Kurdish militia from the area.

"They promised us that they would remove them to the east of the Euphrates," Erdogan said at a conference in Istanbul. "If you will not clean the area, we will enter Manbij," he stressed.

Erdogan said that Turkey had lost enough time in intervening in the region, adding "from now it will not tolerate a single day delay."

Ankara argues that Manbij is an Arab town and should be cleaned from the Kurdish militia known as the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Ankara and Washington have long been at odds over the state of the YPG in Syria, as the U.S. considers the group an ally in its fight against ISIL, while Turkey sees it as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Erdogan vowed earlier this week to launch a new operation targeting the east of the Euphrates River in Syria, sparking concern in Washington.

"Turkey was determined to bring peace and security to the east of the Euphrates," Erdogan said.

(Top image: A Syrian Kurdish member of the YPG attends the funeral of a Kurdish commander in the northeastern city of Qamishli, Syria, December 6, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency